Stocking



G. GASTRICH May 14, 1935.

STOCKING Filed Oct. 12, 1951 INVENTQR. GusZ'avGap'Z wh, BY 5/ ATTORNEY Patented May 14, 1935 UNITE stares attest FATENT Gustav Gastrich, Wyomissing, Pa", assignor, by mesne assignments, to Textile Machine Works, Wyomissing, Pa", a corporation of Pennsyb vania My invention relates to yarns and fabric produced therefrom; and consists essentially in an improved yarn in which the structural arrangement of the constituent filaments of the yarn is adapted to attain the main objects of improving the quality of produced fabrics, of avoiding weaknesses and distorting effects incident to the use of commonly employed yarns, and of improving the appearance of the produced fabrlcs.

' The heretofore employed yarns referred to are commonly made up of filaments of suitable fibrous material united by a characteristic combining twist; with numerous variations of the filaments and twistings as required for different purposes and effects. The use of such twisted yarns, particularly in the knitting of stockings and like articles, has been generally accepted as satisfactory; notwithstanding that there are cerrain inherent faults in it, which it is the purpose of my invention to overcome, and the elimination of which, with attainment of desired advantages, is provided for by the employment of my radically different yarn structure hereinafter described.

I have found that the combining of the constituent filaments by twistings thereof, as variously effected in the commonly employed yarns referred to, results in a tendency of such yarns to somewhat distort the produced fabric, because of the internal strains incident to theirtwisted structure, as well as a liability to defects because of breakage of the yarn or filaments thereof; and I have determined that these disadvam tages can be overcome, and a structure of great-= er strength and superior quality provided, by interweaving or interlacing the constituent filaments without subjecting them to the tensioning strains produced by twisting them together, and without incurring objectionable tendencies of the yarn incident to such inherent strains; also that the accomplishment of this purpose requires that the filaments be so combined as to firmly unite them while substantially maintaining the normal characteristics of the individual'filaments. In practically developing this conception, I have found these required characteristics of my improved yarn to be most completely secured by such an interweaving or interlacing of the filaments as occurs in braiding operations; the several filaments employed being in such case interwoven or interlaced by bendings over and under each other in sinuous paths with maintenance otherwise of the straight run of the filaments and without any distorting tensioning in the finished yarn. The number of constituent filaments must be at least three to permit of such braiding; but this number may be increased, and the individual filaments may be made up, as determined, of any desired number of fibres which may be combined loosely or by twisting together with variation for difierent efiects as desired; an essential requirement however being that the thicknesses of the completed yarns must be made thread-like so as to correspond in size to the yarns heretofore employed.

This requirement of ordinary yarn thickness of the new article of manufacture constituting my invention, involves the practical problem of economically and satisfactorily producing such a miniature braided. product, but my actual pro- Apart from the elimination of all distorting strains in the yarn itself and in fabrics produced therefrom, the inherent strength of the braided yarn is greater than that of corresponding filaments twisted together, with capacity of great desired variations by differences in tightness and pitch of the braiding, as well as in the make-up of the individual filaments, and with corresponding unobvious but important differ ences in appearance and feel oi the product, as compared with that made from ordinary yarns of the radically different twisted-together struc= ture,

with these and other objects in view, which will become apparent from the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments of the invention shown in the accompanying draw ing, my invention resides in the novel stocking, as hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims, A

in the drawing:

Figure l diagrammatically illustrates an embodiment of the invention in the form of a com pleted iull fashioned stocking, with a patch of the fabric enlarged.

- Fig. 2 is a magnified view of a portion of a yarn, of which the stocking is knitted, and produced by braiding four strands or filaments.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but illustrating a yarn including three strands or filaments, and

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line l-d of Fig, 3.

Referring to Figs. 1, 3 and 4 of the drawing. a stocking iii is represented with its body par tion 5 i knitted from the present yarn, such knitting being digrammatically illustrated by the en larged section l2, composed of a plurality of interknit yarn loops 13. These loops are formed from a continuous yarn l4 composed of a plurality of filaments, in this instance, three filaments l5, l6 and I1, all firmly united by braiding the filaments together.

By braiding, I refer to such treatment of the filaments as will result in their being interbraicled, or interlaced over, under and upon each other in sinuous, untwisted paths with portions thereof intermingled, in contradistinction to the conventional twisting of the filaments spirally, or otherwise circularly around each other, as pointed out hereinabove.

The individual filaments are represented as formed from more or less loosely twisted fibres i8; and the braiding is preferably such that the constituent filaments are not subject to creasing or collective twisting strains, as is characteristic of yarns formed by twisting the filaments around each other. The finished yarn is of thread-like thickness, with full-bodied effect at the exterior, and substantially corresponds in size to the conventional yarn produced by twisting the strands or filaments. The present yarn construction is thus employable in knitting machines with facility and satisfaction equal to yarn of the twisted type. When thus used however, the body portion of the stocking presents a more closely knitted, more dense, generally improved dull lustre efiect, with softer appearance and feel to the fabric, with substantially filled interstices between the pertions of the loops; all bringing out the tone and color clearly, and producing a newzesthetic efiect, in contradistinction to stockings knitted from twisted yarns wherein the high lights are more pronounced, due to the arrangement of the fibres and filaments of the yarn.

' In Fig. 2, 1 illustrate another form of the present yarn designated it, in which four filaments, 2t, it, 22, and 23, are braided together, Any

aocneye number of filaments greater than shown in Fig. 3 may be used with like results, to produce knitted fabrics of practically any desired weight or strength.

or course, the improvements specifically shown and described, by which I obtain the above results, can be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the invention herein disclosed and hereinafter claimed.

' What I claim is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a knitted stocking made from yarn consisting of three or more filaments united by braiding the same over and under each other in sinous paths.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a knitted stocking made from yarn consisting of three or more filaments united by interlacing such filaments in sinuous untwisted paths, thereby to minimize tensioning strains.

3. .As a new article of manufacture, a knitted stocking including a body portion composed of a plurality of interknitted yarn loops the yarn of which consists of three or more filaments firmly united by braiding the same over and under each other in sinuous paths, thereby avoiding subject= ing the constituent filaments to creasing or tensioning strains usually incident to twisting by maintaining the normal characteristic of the individual filaments, the finished yarn being of thread-like thickness and in substantial size correspondence with twisted yarn as used in knitting stockings and whereby said stocking body portion presents a solid and closely knitted appearance.

l. As a new article of manufacture, a stocking having at least a portion thereof composed of a braided silk yarn of such gauge as to be capable oi being knitted a stocking knitting machine and consisting entirely of component strands of the character and weight embodied in twisted silk stocking yarn, said strands being all interbraided with each other throughout the length of the GUSTAV GASTRICH. 

